U.S. patent number 6,158,603 [Application Number 09/411,970] was granted by the patent office on 2000-12-12 for tamper evident closure for beverages.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Zapata Innovative Closures Inc.. Invention is credited to Edward Generose, Michael L. Price.
United States Patent |
6,158,603 |
Price , et al. |
December 12, 2000 |
Tamper evident closure for beverages
Abstract
The tamper evident closure of the present invention includes a
twist cap made of plastic that comprises a top portion and an
interior sealing means which coacts with the rim of the container
neck to provide a gas-tight seal. The top portion also has an
annular depending skirt which includes an interior retaining means
to coact with an exterior retaining means on the neck finish of the
container. The exterior retaining means of the container has a
positive stopping means to coact with interior retaining means of
the cap so that when the cap is screwed onto the container neck the
positive stopping means is engaged at a predetermined level of
sealing force and capping torque. The depending skirt also includes
locking means which lock the cap into place after the container is
sealed. The locking means coacts with the positive stopping means
on the container to prevent the cap from being unscrewed or twisted
off the container after it has been screwed onto the container
neck. The locking means are disengaged only after a tamper evident
means is engaged to indicate that the container has been opened.
The tamper evident means preferably comprises a hinged portion of
the cap which must be lifted to open the container, thus providing
an indication that the container has been opened or tampered
with.
Inventors: |
Price; Michael L. (Mountain
Top, PA), Generose; Edward (Hazleton, PA) |
Assignee: |
Zapata Innovative Closures Inc.
(Coconut Grove, FL)
|
Family
ID: |
21736679 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/411,970 |
Filed: |
October 4, 1999 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
009278 |
Jan 20, 1998 |
5984125 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/44; 215/253;
215/305 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
41/0471 (20130101); B65D 41/045 (20130101); B65D
55/024 (20130101); B65D 1/0246 (20130101); B65D
41/3404 (20130101); B29B 2911/1444 (20130101); B29B
2911/14446 (20130101); B65D 2401/35 (20200501) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
41/04 (20060101); B65D 41/34 (20060101); B65D
1/02 (20060101); B65D 55/02 (20060101); B65B
007/28 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/216,217,235,253,254,305,330,331,44 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Cronin; Stephen K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Roux; Philip E. Chance; Clifford
Rogers & Wells LLP
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/009,278, filed
Jan. 20, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,125.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container for containing a product comprising:
(a) an opening for receiving or discharging the product;
(b) a neck surrounding the opening;
(c) said neck including exterior retaining means and positive
stopping means;
(d) said exterior retaining means comprising threads;
(e) said positive stopping means comprising a continuation of the
threads projecting in a direction substantially perpendicular to
said threads and away from the opening of the container;
(f) wherein the threads of the exterior retaining means comprise a
plurality of distinct thread segments, each thread segment
comprising a lead-in portion and a level portion and a free
end;
(i) said lead-in portion comprising a sloping portion of the thread
segment connecting the free end of the thread segment to the level
portion of the thread segment, wherein the free end is closer to
the opening of the container than the level portion of the thread
segment; and
(ii) said level portion comprising a parallel portion of the thread
segment, wherein the parallel portion is in a plane substantially
parallel to the opening of the container.
2. The container of claim 1 wherein the threads of the exterior
retaining means further comprise a plurality of distinct thread
segments that do not overlap one another.
3. The container of claim 1 wherein the positive stopping means
further comprise two stopping faces.
4. The container of claim 1 wherein the positive stopping means
further comprise two substantially flat stopping faces.
5. A container for containing a product comprising:
(a) an opening for receiving or discharging the product;
(b) a neck surrounding the opening;
(c) said neck including exterior retaining means and positive
stopping means;
(d) said exterior retaining means comprising threads;
(e) said positive stopping means comprising a continuation of the
threads projecting in a direction substantially perpendicular to
said threads and away from the opening of the container;
(f) wherein the positive stopping means further comprises two
stopping faces.
6. A container for containing a product comprising:
(a) an opening for receiving or discharging the product;
(b) a neck surrounding the opening;
(c) said neck including exterior retaining means and positive
stopping means;
(d) said exterior retaining means comprising threads;
(e) said positive stopping means comprising a continuation of the
threads projecting in a direction substantially perpendicular to
said threads and away from the opening of the container;
(f) wherein the positive stopping means further comprises two
substantially flat stopping faces.
7. The container of claims 3, 4, 5, or 6, wherein the positive
stopping means has two sides in planes perpendicular to the
direction of rotation of the threads, and wherein one stopping face
is located on one side and the other stopping face is located on
the other side.
8. The container of claim 7, wherein the threads of the exterior
retaining means further comprises a plurality of distinct thread
segments that do not overlap one another.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to tamper evident closures which
provide an effective seal for and indicate the condition of
containers or bottles which may contain non-carbonated beverages or
carbonated beverages such as soft drinks or beer. More
particularly, the closure of the present invention includes a
plastic twist cap with a hinged portion which must be lifted to
open the container or bottle and thus provides a clear and
unequivocal indicator of the condition of the container or bottle,
e.g. that it has been opened or tampered with.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Closures such as crown seals or caps are routinely used and are
well known in the art for sealing the openings of containers or
bottles which typically contain carbonated or other beverages. With
respect to crown seals, they are commonly formed of metal sheet
material and comprise a top and a sidewall with a flared skirt. The
skirt includes a plurality of flutes which extend around the
circumference thereof at spaced intervals. When applied to cover an
open end of a bottle, these flutes are bent or crimped at the
points of intersection between the top and the skirt, gripping a
bead at the upper rim of the bottle opening for sealing.
To obtain a seal of sufficient strength which will withstand the
pressure of the contained carbonated or other beverages, a metal
such as steel typically is used to form crown seals. In order to
provide an effective gas-tight seal, metal crown seals generally
will include a sealing gasket or liner which is attached to the
inside of the top of the crown seal. Such a liner commonly is made
of plastic or a similar resilient material which provides a seal
between the bottle opening and the metal crown seal when it is
applied to the bottle.
In recent years metal "twist-off" crown seals have become more
popular and are used by numerous beverage manufacturers. The
twist-off crown seal generally includes internal threads which are
formed when the flutes of the crown seal are bent or crimped onto
the external threads located near the upper rim of the container or
bottle opening. The twist-off crown seal is removed from the bottle
without the use of a bottle opener by rotating the crown seal to
unthread it from the bottle. The metal flutes are relatively sharp,
however, and can be uncomfortable when grasped by a consumer when
the bottle is picked up or opened. Particularly with the twist-off
crown seal design, the sharp edges of the flutes can be painful as
the crown seal is removed. With respect to tamper evidence,
moreover, crown seals, particularly twist-off crown seals, can
easily be replaced onto the bottles after being removed with little
or no evidence that the bottles have been opened or tampered
with.
As a result of the disadvantages and limitations noted for metal
crown seals, the use of plastic closures for bottles containing
pressurized beverages has been proposed in the prior art. Such
prior art designs for plastic closure caps have several advantages
over metal crown seals. Among the advantages are ease of use, low
torque removal, better protection for the bottle finish, less
possibility of injuring the user's hand during removal, less
possibility of injuring others if carelessly discarded, and a
potential for biodegradability.
Despite these advantages, however, the prior art plastic closures
have suffered from a number of disadvantages which have limited
their use in commercial applications. For example, in order to
provide sufficient sealing integrity to ensure a gas-tight seal for
extended periods of time, some plastics caps have been made to
incorporate an inner skirt that enters the bottle mouth to pressure
seal the contained beverage. Other plastic caps have included an
outer strengthening collar for holding the closure on the bead of
the bottle mouth. Still other plastic closures have combined the
features of screwing completely onto the bottle for a tight fit
while employing an inner skirt for added pressure seal. To
incorporate these features, additional material, manufacturing
steps and/or specialized machinery is required which increases the
time and cost of manufacturing the caps sealing containers with
such caps.
Another disadvantage of the prior art plastic closures is that the
closures can be relatively easily removed by hand by persons
tampering with bottles. Furthermore, with these prior art designs,
there is no convenient way by which it is possible to determine or
detect whether a bottle has been previously opened by an
unauthorized person and then resealed.
Thus, metal crown seals and the prior art plastic closures for
bottles or other containers are beset with drawbacks and problems.
All of the above-mentioned disadvantages are minimized or
eliminated by the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a new and unique tamper evident
closure comprising a twist cap and a container such as a bottle.
The container may contain non-carbonated beverages or carbonated
beverages such as soft drinks or beer. The twist cap preferably is
made of plastic, and can be made to have the appearance of a metal
crown seal which typically is used to seal bottles containing
carbonated or non-carbonated beverages. The closure of the present
invention provides a gas tight seal and can easily be opened
without the discomfort which can occur when opening conventional
twist-off metal crown seals. The closure also includes a tamper
evident means which provides clear indication of the condition of
the container--i.e., whether the container has been previously
opened or tampered with.
Generally, the tamper evident closure of the present invention
includes a twist cap made of plastic which includes a top portion
and an interior sealing means which coacts with the rim of the
container neck to provide a gas-tight seal. The top portion also
has an annular depending skirt which engages the neck of the
container for closure thereof. The depending skirt includes an
interior retaining means to coact with an exterior retaining means
on the neck finish of the container so that when the cap is screwed
onto the container neck, the cap is pulled onto the neck and the
interior sealing means of the cap is pressed against the rim of the
neck with sufficient force to provide a gas-tight sealing
engagement. The exterior retaining means of the container has a
positive stopping means to coact with interior retaining means of
the cap so that when the cap is screwed onto the container neck the
positive stopping means is engaged at a predetermined level of
sealing force and capping torque. The depending skirt also includes
locking means which lock the cap into place after the container is
sealed. The locking means coacts with the positive stopping means
on the container to prevent the cap from being unscrewed or twisted
off the container after it has been screwed onto the container
neck. The locking means are disengaged only after a tamper evident
means is engaged to indicate that the container has been
opened.
Preferably the tamper evident means comprises a hinged portion of
the cap which must be lifted to open the container, thus providing
an indication that the container has been opened or tampered with.
The hinged portion comprises a portion of the cap and depending
skirt which includes a hinge which runs straight across the top
portion of the cap and two lines of weakness in the depending skirt
which run straight down the side of the skirt from the ends of the
hinge to the bottom of the skirt. The hinged portion also includes
a handle which is used to pull the hinged portion in an upward
direction when the container is being opened, thus breaking the
lines of weakness and providing evidence that the container has
been opened or tampered with.
In a preferred embodiment the interior retaining means of the cap
comprises of one or more projections or threads on the interior
wall of the skirt, and the exterior retaining means and positive
stopping means comprise suitable coacting projections or threads on
the neck finish of the container. The locking means of the
depending skirt comprises of one or more flaps projecting from the
interior wall of the portion of the skirt which is included in the
hinged portion of the cap. The flaps sufficiently deflect when the
cap is screwed onto the container neck to allow application and
sealing of the cap onto the container. When an attempt is made to
untwist or unscrew the cap off of the container without first
lifting the hinged portion of the cap, the flaps engage the
positive stopping means to prevent the cap from being unscrewed or
twisted off the container. The flaps are disengaged only after the
hinged portion of the cap is lifted from the container. As the
hinged portion is lifted from the container, pressure inside the
container is released, thus yielding a safe opening for the
consumer. The hinged portion then remains raised, thus providing
evidence that the container has been opened or tampered with. Once
the hinged portion is raised and the flaps are disengaged, the cap
may be safely opened by untwisting it off the container.
In the preferred embodiment the interior sealing means of the cap
comprises a liner which rests between the top portion of the cap
and the interior retaining means of the cap before the cap is
applied to the container. The liner preferably is made of ethylene
vinyl acetate or other similar polyoelifins such as
polyvinylchloride (PVC). The diameter of the liner preferably is
about the same as the interior diameter of the depending skirt.
When the cap is applied to the container, the liner initially rests
on the top of the rim of the container neck. As the cap is screwed
further onto the container for a sealing engagement, the outer
circumference of the liner is caught and compressed between the rim
of the container neck and the interior corner of the cap where the
top portion meets the depending skirt, thus providing a gas-tight
seal of the container.
Thus, the closure of the present invention are designed to be used
with containers such as bottles which contain carbonated beverages
to provide a gas-tight seal, and, at the same time, indicate the
condition of the container to thereby provide evidence of
tampering. The closure of the present invention further provides a
low-cost alternative to the metal crown seals typically used to
seal bottles containing carbonated beverages, yet can be made to
have the ornamental appearance of a metal crown seal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute
part of this specification, are illustrative embodiments of the
invention.
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of the cap of
the tamper evident closure of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the top of the cap of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the cap of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bottom of the cap of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a container, such as a bottle
neck, upon which the cap of FIG. 1 can be applied;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the top of the container of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 illustrates the closing of the cap of FIG. 1 on the
container of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the cap of FIG. 1 on the
container of FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the cap of FIG. 1 on the
container of FIG. 5;
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the top of the cap of FIG. 1 on the
container of FIG. 5;
FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of FIG. 7, taken along lines 11--11
of FIG. 7;
FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the cap of FIG. 1 on the
container of FIG. 5, wherein a hinged portion of the cap has been
lifted, thus evidencing opening of or tampering with the
container;
FIG. 13 is a top view of the cap and container of FIG. 12,
illustrating the rotational movement required to remove the cap
from the container after the hinged portion of the cap has been
lifted as illustrated in FIG. 12.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a preferred
embodiment of the cap of the tamper evident closure of the present
invention. The cap 10 is made of plastic material and has a top
portion 12, an annular depending skirt 14 and a handle 16. In the
embodiment shown, the cap is made to have the appearance of a metal
crown seal which typically is used to seal bottles containing
carbonated beverages. Thus the depending skirt 14 includes a
plurality of flutes 18 which serve no functional purpose but rather
are solely ornamental. Such flutes may be included to provide the
decorative appearance of a conventional metal crown seal.
The interior of the skirt 14 includes a plurality of projections or
lugs 20 which extend inwardly from the bottom of the skirt 14. The
cap 10 also includes a hinged portion 26 which functions to open
the container upon which the cap is applied and to provide evidence
that the container has been opened or tampered with. The hinged
portion 26 includes the handle 16 of the cap, a hinge 28 which runs
straight across the top portion 12 of the cap and two lines of
weakness 30 in the depending skirt which run straight down the side
of the skirt from the ends of the hinge to the bottom of the skirt.
As will be explained further herein, the lines of weakness 30 will
split when the hinged portion 26 is lifted by applying upward
pressure on the handle 16. The hinge 28 is a weakened portion of
the top portion 12 of the cap which allows the hinged portion 26 to
be lifted upwardly from the container without separating the hinged
portion 26 from the rest of the cap 10.
Preferably, the hinge 28 should be located in the top portion 12 of
the cap at a point which allows about 150 degrees arc length of the
top portion 12 to be included in the hinged portion 26 of the cap
10. The hinged portion 26 also includes flaps 32 which project
inwardly from the interior wall 34 of the portion of the skirt 14
which forms part of the hinged portion 26. The flaps 32 are angled
so as to sufficiently deflect toward the interior wall 34 when the
cap is screwed onto a container neck to allow application and
sealing of the cap onto the container. As will be described in
detail below, the flaps 32 also function to prevent the cap from
being unscrewed or twisted off the container when an attempt is
made to unscrew the cap without first lifting the hinged portion 26
of the cap.
Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown two views of a
preferred embodiment of the container which is used with the cap of
the invention described and illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. The
container of the present invention may be made of any suitable
material, but is preferably made of plastic or glass. FIG. 5 shows
the container neck 36 having a support ring 38 and an upper portion
40. The upper portion 40 includes an exterior retaining means in
the form of a thread-like projection 44 which includes a lead-in
portion 46 and a positive stopping portion 48 which includes
stopping faces 50 and 52. As can be readily seen in FIG. 6 which
illustrates a plan view of the top of the container, the lead-in
portion 46 of the thread-like projection 44 preferably includes a
sloped portion 47 which functions to allow easier application of
the cap 10 onto the container neck 36, which is described in detail
below.
FIGS. 7-11 show the cap of FIGS. 1-4 in closed and sealed
engagement with the container neck 36 of FIG. 5 and 6. Prior to
applying the cap 10 to the container neck 36, a liner 54 is placed
in the cap between the lugs 20 and the top portion 10 of the cap.
The liner preferably is made of ethylene vinyl acetate or other
similar polyoelifins such as polyvinylchloride (PVC). The diameter
of the liner preferably is about the same as the interior diameter
of the depending skirt. To seal the container, the cap 10 of FIGS.
1-4 is screwed onto the upper portion 40 of the container neck 36.
As the cap 10 is screwed onto the container neck 36, the lugs 20 of
the cap engage the lead-in portion 46 of the thread-like projection
44 of upper portion 40 of the container neck, thus pulling the cap
10 onto the upper portion 40 of the container neck 36 until the
leading edge of the cap lugs 20 meet the stopping face 50 of the
stopping portion 48. As the cap is screwed onto the container, the
flaps 32 of the skirt 14 of the cap deflect toward the interior
wall 34 of the skirt 14 as they pass over the thread-like
projection 44 of the container neck 36. When the cap 10 is pulled
onto the upper portion 40 of the container neck 36, the liner 54
engages the rim 42 of the container neck. As the cap is screwed
further onto the container for a sealing engagement, the outer
circumference 56 of the liner 54 is caught and compressed between
the rim of the container neck and the interior corner 22 of the cap
where the top portion 10 meets the depending skirt 14, thus
providing a gas-tight seal of the container.
As is shown most clearly in FIG. 11, after the cap is sealed onto
the container neck 36, it may not be removed by simply unscrewing
the cap from the container. After the cap 10 has been screwed onto
the container, any attempt to unscrew the cap from the container
neck 36 without first lifting the hinged portion 26 of the cap will
cause the flaps 32 to engage the stopping face 52 of the
thread-like projection 44, thus preventing unscrewing of the cap
and unsealing of the container. As is further described below, the
flaps 32 are disengaged only after the hinged portion 26 of the cap
10 is lifted from the container, thus opening the container and
providing evidence that the container has been opened or tampered
with.
Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, there is illustrated the opening
of the closure of the present invention and the engagement of the
tamper evidence means of the closure. As shown in FIG. 12, the
closure of the present invention is opened by first pulling in an
upward direction the handle 16 of the cap 10 with sufficient force
to cause breakage of the lines of weakness 30 and bending of the
hinged portion 26 about the hinge 28. As the handle 16 is pulled
up, pressure from inside the container is released, evidence that
the container has been opened is provided and, at the same time,
the flaps 32 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 11 which are included in
the hinged portion 26 are disengaged. The disengagement of the
flaps 32 allows the cap 10 to be completely unscrewed from the
container as shown in FIG. 13, thus yielding a safe opening for the
consumer. Even if the cap 10 is re-applied to the container, the
two broken lines of weakness 30 will provide a clear and
unequivocal indication that the container has been opened or
tampered with.
The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific
described embodiments and departures may be made therefrom within
the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the
principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief
advantages.
* * * * *